Have lunch with coach Doug Marrone today at PJ's Pub&Grill in Syracuse

View full sizeFrank Ordonez / The Post StandardSyracuse University head football coach Doug Marrone answers a question Nov. 7 during the weekly luncheon he hosts on Mondays at P.J.s Pub & Grill on Walton Street in Armory Square in downtown Syracuse.

The crowd at PJ’s Pub & Grill trickles in slower than usual on Nov. 7.

Some patrons sit at the bar, but most make their way to a banquet room in the back. Waitresses in orange shirts emblazoned with the letters “SU” take orders from the steadily growing crowd. They sit at tables facing a lectern, waiting for the special guest to arrive.

Syracuse University football coach Doug Marrone strolls in at 12:05 p.m. and shakes hands with everyone in the room. Some quietly take his hand, others stand to greet him. He takes the lectern and addresses the crowd, lessening the din from clattering silverware.

He talks about the latest match-up — a loss to Connecticut — and his expectations for the future. He gets into what he wants to accomplish, and addresses things he doesn’t want to see again. Diners listen and ask questions.

These lunches started two years ago, during Marrone’s first year as head coach of the program he once played for. With these events, Marrone said he is keeping up a tradition that goes along with managing SU’s 122-year-old football program.

Lunch with the coach

SU Coach Doug Marrone will appear at one more meet-the-fans lunches at PJ’s Pub & Grill in Syracuse’s Armory Square on Nov. 28, the Monday following the Cincinnati game. PJ’s is at 116 Walton St.

Saving seats? You can’t make a reservation for the lunch — it’s first-come, first-serve. But getting there early, especially after a win, is a must: The Monday after this year’s West Virginia game sold out.

SU football coaches have hosted these types of lunches for decades. Marrone said he remembers Dick MacPherson speaking for lunch gatherings at Drumlins Country Club, and hearing stories of Ben Schwartzwalder doing the same downtown. When he took the coaching job, he said he received letters from fans saying they wanted the lunches back.

“Prior to me coming in, they weren’t happening,” Marrone said. “I wanted to get back to tradition.”

He asked Joe Baldini, general manager of Syracuse IMG Sports Marketing, to find an easily accessible venue, where he could connect to the public through a luncheon. PJ’s ended up being the X on the map.

Curt Butler, co-owner of PJ’s, said Marrone’s presence has been a “shot in the arm for Monday business,” one of the slower days for lunch. The lunch is open to anyone, and a $10 ticket gives patrons a choice from an abbreviated menu of PJ’s selections.

Depending on the outcome of the game from that weekend, the crowd’s size and intensity can wax and wane. With unexpected wins, like this year’s long-shot victory over West Virginia, Butler said the crowd gets more excited than usual to see Marrone.

“Even though the luncheon doesn’t start until noon, people were here at 10:15 a.m. because they wanted to make sure they could get a seat,” he said.

Marrone said he recognizes the fans are just as passionate about the team as he is. If they have opinions or commentary, he said they’re not afraid to bring it up. The lunch serves as a place for fans and skeptics alike to get their information straight from the man guiding the team from the sidelines, he said.

“They know the stats, they know the players, they know the program,” he said. “But this is a place for them to be open and free, to ask questions. And what’s better than asking the coach?”